Pimple on the sun that spells a spot of bother: Venus' transit of sun to be visible this week... but has history of bringing bad luck

So long as it’s not raining, those who are up with the lark on Wednesday will be able to see a celestial pattern which will not be repeated in the lifetime of most people alive today.

In a configuration said by some to be the harbinger of doom, the planet Venus will cross the Sun — an event which has only happened six times in recorded history, and most recently just before the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004.

The tiny planet Venus will show up as a little black dot against the raging furnace of the Sun, which is some 100 times larger and brighter, but because Venus is so much nearer to us — about 25 million miles from Earth, as opposed to the Sun’s 93 million miles — it will appear larger. Like a pimple on the Sun’s face.

Tracking the path: The transits take place in pairs, with an eight year gap, followed by a wait of 105 years

SAFE SOLAR VIEWING - HOW TO SEE THE TRANSIT FROM HOME

Assuming the Great British Summer decides to give us a clear morning, you will be able to view the transit from home - but make sure you do it safely, with this advice from NASA:

Inexpensive eclipse shades have special safety filters that appear similar to sunglasses, but these filters permits safe viewing. However, with less than 48 hours to go, these may be tough to track down in time.

If you have binoculars or telescopes, special solar filters are available. However, never ever use a telescope without a filter or look directly at the sun - or you will irreparably damage your eyesight. And NASA warns not to buy solar filters that attach to the eye-piece, as these are not always safe.

But if there is a telescope to hand, find a screen and project the sun onto it. This will provide a magnified view of the sun, and the clearest way of seeing the transit yourself - but find a safe surface to project onto, as this can be a fire risk.

Pinhole projectors have the advantage of being easy and inexpensive, although their view is unmagnified. For advice on how to make one, check out the page at Stanford.

A transit of Venus has particular significance to scientists, as well as soothsayers.

When the phenomenon was first recorded in 1639, it led to a global initiative between nine different countries and 120 observers — the first example of modern scientific co-operation — to establish the Earth’s exact distance from the Sun, and hence the size of the solar system.

Opportunities to witness it are extremely rare, because although the Sun, Venus and Earth roughly line up every 584 days, the orbits of the Earth and Venus are tilted so that Venus normally seems to pass above or below the Sun.

It only happens in pairs, eight years apart (thus the 2004 transit), and less than once a century.

The view from space: ISS astronauts will view the transit from space, providing a wealth of information to earthbound astronomers

Nikon's advertising is out of this world: The rig in space which will capture the tranit

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In 1761, when the next transit was due, French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil went to India in answer to Halley’s call, but missed it because of a stormy voyage.

He waited in India for eight years for the next one in 1769, but missed that, too, because of clouds.

Unfortunately, he then returned home to find he had been declared dead and his wife and her new husband had spent his fortune.

The British had more luck when the explorer Captain Cook observed the 1769 transit on an expedition to Tahiti, and then just happened to discover Australia and New Zealand on his way back.

The 2004 transit, pictured here from the Philippines, moved across the top of the sun, as viewed from Earth. The 2012 transit will run across the bottom of the face

WHEN TO SEE THE TRANSIT IN AMERICA AND EUROPE

The Astronomers without Borders group has created an interactive time-checker to help you find out when best to view the transit, which is available here.

In
the US, the afternoon of Tuesday is your time to see the cosmic event,
from 2pm on the East-side of the country, and from 3pm on the West-side.

In
the UK, the best time to see the transit is from 5.55am on Wednesday
morning, with the transit occurring during the hour after daybreak (note
the image below is in GMT, not BST).

The public were in a frenzy of excitement as a result of his observation, along with other calculations from others who saw it in Norway and South Africa.

George III built an observatory at his home at Kew Palace so he could see the stars for himself.

Astronomers duly calculated the distance between Earth and the Sun to be between 93 million to 97 million miles.

Today, the accepted distance is 92.96 million miles.

The discovery has never diminished enthusiasm for the transit of Venus, however.

Visionary: Edmond Halley, a member of The Royal Society, predicted that on June 6, 1761, Venus would traverse the burning disc of the sun for about six hours

The Royal Astronomical Society says this week enthusiasts have organised transit parties and viewings from one end of the country to the other.

Lord Rees of Ludlow, the Astronomer Royal, says new scientific discoveries may well emerge on this occasion, too.

‘Very
careful measurements of what happens when the transit starts and ends
may reveal something about the planet’s atmosphere,’ he says.

This
transit — which will take roughly six-and-a-half hours — will be
watched eagerly from the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Asia and
Russia, where it will be visible throughout.

In East Africa, Europe and Scandinavia, it will already be under way as the Sun rises on Wednesday.

The final hour will be visible from the UK just before 5am, clear skies permitting. And that’s it for another 105 years.

There
is an added factor that makes this week’s transit especially intriguing
— Venus will appear to be transiting the Sun in a backwards motion.

Though
all eight planets in our solar system always orbit the Sun in the same
direction — anti-clockwise — on this transit, Venus will look as if it’s
moving backwards due to an optical illusion as the Earth orbits the Sun
at a slower speed.

Stunning: Earth's closest planetary neighbour appeared as a black disc 30 times smaller than the Sun's diameter, slowly moving from left to right over the course of six hours when it last appeared

It is this combination of events which exercises the prophets of doom. While the Mail’s astrologer Jonathan Cainer sees the configuration as benign, the eccentric Belgian astronomer Patrick Geryl claims it signifies ‘the coming of the end of times’, which he sets for December 21, 2012.

He bases this on his calculation that an equivalent motion nearly 12,000 years ago sparked a flood that destroyed the legendary lost continent of Atlantis.

Whether you are of a superstitious or a scientific bent, however, do not look at the Sun with the naked eye — even at that early hour of the morning.

Either use special solar viewing glasses (make sure they come with a CE safety mark) for a few minutes at a time, or by using a telescope to safely project the image on to a screen.